1.31.2008

I reclined in the driver's seat, listening to the occasional boom of a controlled detonation as we were out and about, cleaning bad shit out in some area. Y'know, good shit, throwing a wrench in the Bad Guys' plans and whatnot. Felt pretty damn good about it. I wasn't doing shit, mind you, but I was there, involved in SOMETHING other than a goddamn meeting. And I started thinking.

Yeah, I hate Iraq. I hate being here. This place is one big long shit-smear if you ask me. But let's look beyond my simple opinion and look at this whole mess for what it is.

"I hate our President."

But you elected him. One way or another.

"I hate this war and I think it's not solving anything."

But it's already well underway, with no sign of stopping. We're COMMITTED now. You can't keep debating it. Once you commit to something like this, you have to see it through. It's like everyone WANTS us to just say, "Fuck it," and quit. Throw in the towel. Oh well, we tried.

Fuck that. We leave, and this region turns to shit, and the guys we buried are in the ground for nothing. We already stepped in this turd. Our boots already have the shit on them. Why back away now? Finish the job.

Ever wonder what happened to that American Ideal? Weren't we untouchable? The new great power, standing for all sorts of righteous and good and kickass ideals? A nation of John Wayne, hard-working shit-shoveling hardasses? Guess we've lost sight in a few things.

So maybe instead of pulling out, and succumbing as a nation to Dr. Phil sensitivity, we should pull the fucking plug on the shit spraying from the TV. All those shows geared to making you stupid? What do you need it for?

Your penis is too small, and you are too fucking fat. You aren't beautiful and glamorous and you need to drive this big fuckin' car. Buy, consume, fear, spend, succumb, stop thinking. Wouldn't that be great? Lovely.

Sean Penn doesn't know a goddamn thing. Neither does Bono. Give them a nation and watch it crumble. The news flash is thus: It's an ugly world, kids. Sometimes we have to get ugly with it. Especially when we've committed ourselves to this region, for whatever reason, the reason doesn't even matter anymore, because it's US standing in that Fatal Funnel, and you gotta fight through that shit, son, or else it's your ass.

So pull the media out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Stop with the sensationalism, because that TOO has a fucking dollar sign attached to it. You bitch about this all being for oil, monetary greed and corruption, but everything you can even FATHOM has a price tag on it. Such is the folly of civilization.

How many times do you see Americans acting like they're ASHAMED of being an American? You slap a ribbon magnet on your car, doing your part for the war effort and supporting the boys and all that, while tucking your tail in between your legs because the rest of the world doesn't like us so much, cuz we're just too aggressive.

Wait, no we aren't. We're being monitored by the media. So they can twist and edit and cut out this detail for that. To sell the big story. Prostitutes, every last one of them. You don't trust a corner-whore, why put money in the pocket of these bottom-feeders?

LET US DO OUR SHITTY, GOD-CURSED JOB. THE WAY OUT IS THROUGH.

When I was a kid, I always thought that America never submitted, never took shit from anyone. That no matter what, we rose above whatever was thrown at us. We're an incredible nation and we're afraid to admit it. I say fuck anyone who doesn't like it. I'm a goddamn American, and I am PROUD of that. Sparta doesn't have shit on us.

Take a goooood long look at the people we're up against. Are we really so bad? Fuck Bono. Fuck Green Day. Fuck all those call girls who soak up YOUR money just to badmouth you. To patronize you. Fuck 'em all.

We may have been dealt a shitty hand, but goddammit, you PLAY that shit. You play til you're out of chips. Because we weren't raised to be quitters and whiners. By showing interior weakness, you do nothing but empower the people who want us eradicated. Sorry, but your kindergarten teacher was full of shit. We CAN'T all get along. Nice try, Ghandi, but I live in the real world, and it's cold 'n' ugly, but there's plenty of good in it as well.

"But the People have a right to know."

The People also aren't going to understand it all when they aren't there in the thick of it. I don't care about spreading democracy or looting for oil or whatever the fuck we're doing. But I damned sure don't want to come home only to find in a couple years that my time was wasted here.

So, please, America, or whatever is left of you, turn off the TV. Let go of the reins. Let us do it and do it RIGHT.

That was a good one Suspect. I completely agree. Its easy to understand that you hate it there, everybody does. Hell those dirty bastards even hate it, thats probably why they are so pissed at everything. I do believe the media should be taken out of there. But then again, they dont cover it much anymore anyway, why would they when Brittney is fucking up so much and a little know actor overdosed. THATS NEWS RIGHT? Ha! piss on them for Helping Americans keep themselves stupid. Dont pay attention to the shit on your boots, hell when you get home the liberals will keep dumping truckloads of shit all over you for walking through the shit in the first place. Try to keep being a proud American who wants to change things, we need more like that.

"What if they held a war and noboby came?" We've already done this. We've already had an imperialist war, already driven a generation crazy, already forced at least two nations into during things they never should have done. We did throw in the towel, we did betray a lot of people. On both sides. History may not repeat itself, but it does rhyme. Ghandi was well aware of the ugly side of reality, what with being a colored person in South Africa and all, kind of hard to avoid. And my kindegarten teacher did have her head screwed on straight. She said,"we're all just people" and she was right. The situation you're in sucks badly. Hang on and get out in as good a shape as possible. We're all behind you. Someday, this may not be over, but you'll be out of there. We got betrayed, too. How do think it feels to see our young people, our future, put in your situation? We need you guys sane and in one piece. There's more to do here than you can imagine, but you'll have to look for it, because there's no fancy ads on television. Something tells me I'm going to get some shit for this response. Best of luck to you, and please keep writing!

You're in a situation that you hate, put there by a man you hate, but you're going to do the job because it's the right thing to do, and so your comrades did not die in vain, and so that those that come after you don't have to go there and clean up an even bigger mess.

It's because of people like you that this country is what it is. The media, at times, is almost as bad as al-Qaeda, and I'm sorry that you can't shoot THEM.

I pray that God watches over you and your friends. Get the job done so you can come home.

You're right about the mess. Some in the media may be editorializing rather than reporting, we need to find the more balanced picture. I will always choose more information over no information. Darkness hides bad stuff, shine the light and there's at least exposure. We will not let this go under the rug more that it already is doing right now. The soldiers buried will not have fought in vain as long as we are allowed to participate and know. We can get out and honor the committment by showing up later with our tools to rebuild in honor of ALL who have died...including innocent civilians. Sensitivity?...it's not weakness.Power over strength is weakness. Guns over diplomacy is weakness. This country's weakness is not in the soldiers who are taking care of business - no question about it, but in the leadership at the top; that's weakness. Our soldiers have a very tough job...we who are close to it know it. How can soldiering and ambassadorship go together. So proud of you all! We continue to press for an ending. Please take care of yourself and those around you. We keep you close.4/2 mom

How To Condemn Your Soul

Episode II

This is a continuation of the blog originally hosted at eleven-bravo.blogspot.com. Through a twist of fate, I was not given the MOS 11B, instead I became an 11C. Calling a blog eleven-bravo when I'm 11C is moot.

The old blog contains the first phase of my brief army career. This is the second, the deployment.

It is also crap.

Cover Your Ass

You can't trust everything you read or take it all for face value. NO ONE has the entire view of the Iraq war. There are millions of pieces of the puzzle, perspectives from all sides and it can never be fully understood. This perspective comes from me, a young, uneducated, barely-passable Infantryman. This isn't the news. It's just a look through another set of eyes, nothing more.

Details are omitted to protect OPSEC. Here's a stolen disclaimer.

This website is privately operated and was designed to provide personal information, views and commentary about the authors experiences in Iraq and elsewhere. The images depicted and opinions expressed on this website are solely those of the author and contributors and not those of any agency of the United States Government, expressly including, but not limited to, the Department of Defense, the United States Army, or the United States Army Reserve. The site is not designed, authorized, sanctioned, or affiliated, by or with, any agency of the United States Government, expressly including, but not limited to, the Department of Defense, the United States Army, or the United States Army Reserve. Users and abusers accept and agree to this disclaimer in the use of any information accessed in this website.